NEW FBI UNIT IS DEDICATED TO INVESTIGATING MEDIA LEAKS, AND IT’S FOR REAL

So thank you, FOIA. Even though you are now only accessible via a single fax line with the feds, you are there. Well, maybe after the Shutdown, anyway. But thanks to a FOIA that The Young Turks submitted, we now know there is indeed a new unit in the FBI. It’s tasked with dealing with media leaks. This is kind of huge news. So no, it’s not surprising. But it is of serious concern for those who ever heard of Orwell. Or maybe just someone familiar with the Constitution of the United States.

FOIA REQUEST CONFIRMS THE TRUTH, THE GOVERNMENT WILL MAKE LEAKERS PAY

So The Young Turks eventually received internal communications that have heavy redactions. That means most of every page is blacked out and is still hidden. But they confirmed the existence of this Media Leaks Unit. And they also showed that the government thinks that there has been a “rapid” increase in the number of leaks from government workers to the media. The NYT published these exerpts which read, “By law, the FBI is the lead federal agency responsible for the investigation of violations of the espionage laws of the United States.” That came from a document with the subheader, “Functions and Mission Statement.” It also said, “The complicated nature of — and rapid growth in — unauthorized disclosure and media leak threats and investigations has necessitated the establishment of a new Unit.”

Related:

OBAMA HANDED DANGEROUS POWER TO EVEN MORE DANGEROUS PEOPLE

So
this unit came into being back in 2017, when Jeff Sessions was still the Attorney
General. In November of that year, he
said that they had 27 active probes about leaks to the media. That represented an increase of 800%. So what’s to worry about with this, you
ask? Well, maybe a lot. In the entirety of America’s history, there
have only been about 12 prosecutions for leaks.
So if there were 27 active investigations just over a year ago, that really
kind of scary. And to make it all worse,
this started under President Obama, whose Justice Department tried and
convicted Chelsea Manning. Chelsea was
supposed to serve 35 years in prison.
But Obama commuted her sentence before leaving office.